The nation of New Zealand took home top honours at the inaugural Red Bull Youth America's Cup contest on San Francisco Bay. The NZL Sailing Team with Emirates Team New Zealand stood up to the challenge from fierce rivals Full Metal Jacket (also of New Zealand) and ROFF/Cascais Sailing Team from Portugal, who finished second and third, respectively.

“It’s been amazing to actually take the win,” said Peter Burling, the skipper of the New Zealand Sailing Team. “We got a lot better during the racing. It’s quite humbling to do it under the Emirates Team New Zealand banner.”

Roman Hagara and Hans-Peter Steinacher, the double Olympic gold medalists who serve as Sport Directors of the Red Bull Youth America’s Cup, were impressed with the level of talent they witnessed in San Francisco.

“The young guys are amazing. They are racing the boats really hard and the competition is very tough,” Hagara said. “The best team won. But all of the teams have shown massive development. They learned so much here.”